Etchings Institutions search term: mclean
Fleur-de-lys Passage |  Hunterian Art Gallery (46904) | |
| Number: | 360 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching and drypoint | |
| Size: | 185 x 82 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at upper left | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 4 | |
| Known impressions: | 11 | |
| Catalogues: | K.289; M.286; W.233 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (11) | ||
TECHNIQUE
After the initial vivid etched sketch, with broken, edgy lines, Whistler took great pains to convey the atmospheric, murky shadows of the interior, adding both fine drypoint and etched shading.
PRINTING
Whistler kept the first proof, which was printed in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper (
). The other known first state is in a darker, black ink, also on ivory laid paper (); indeed, impressions seem to have been printed equally in brown and black ink.
Only one or two impressions of the first, second, and third states have been located, and a few more of the final state. Two impressions are on laid paper with partial 'Pro Patria' watermarks (, ), one is on ivory laid paper, with a partial Arms of Amsterdam watermark () and one has the watermark 'GR' over a crown ().
). The other known first state is in a darker, black ink, also on ivory laid paper (); indeed, impressions seem to have been printed equally in brown and black ink. Only one or two impressions of the first, second, and third states have been located, and a few more of the final state. Two impressions are on laid paper with partial 'Pro Patria' watermarks (
, ), one is on ivory laid paper, with a partial Arms of Amsterdam watermark () and one has the watermark 'GR' over a crown ().On 18 July 1889 Whistler recorded a 'List of Proofs in Stock' including one unmounted impression of
'Fleur de lis Passage'. In a list that appears to date from slightly later, though it is not actually dated, he noted that he had three unmounted and two mounted impressions. 10 It is possible that he was printing these impressions of the final state around 1890, but it is not certain.